BURLINGTON — The three occupants of a hot air balloon that crashed Wednesday evening in Burlington, Wisconsin, have been released from the hospital, police said Thursday afternoon.
The hot air balloon from the Lake Geneva Balloon Company crashed Wednesday in the 400 block of Calumet Street.
The pilot told police that while attempting to land the hot air balloon, the gondola touched down and the balloon became entangled with a Northbound Canadian National train.
Occupants of the balloon were:
The pilot, Jimmy Winder (62) of Bristol, Wisconsin
Passenger Nikolay Veltchev (37), of Barrington, Illinois
Passenger, Elena Petrova (36) of Arlington Heights, Illinois
A photo of the disabled balloon was shared widely on the Racine County News/Scanner Facebook group.
All three were initially taken to Froedtert Hospital, two by medical helicopter, with what were reported to be life-threatening injuries.
However police said Thursday afternoon all three were released and were now recovering.
The Burlington Police Department continues to work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The National Transportation Safety Board has been identified as lead investigating agency moving forward. This investigation remains ongoing.
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